Pilottown, Louisiana

Pilottown
Pilottown in the 1880s
Pilottown in the 1880s
Pilottown is located in Louisiana
Pilottown
Pilottown
Location of Pilottown in Louisiana
Coordinates: 29°10′54″N 89°15′27″W / 29.18167°N 89.25750°W / 29.18167; -89.25750
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishPlaquemines
Area
 • Total7.2 sq mi (19 km2)
 • Land5.0 sq mi (13 km2)
 • Water2.2 sq mi (6 km2)
Elevation
3 ft (0.9 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total0
 • Density0.0/sq mi (0.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
70081 (closed)
Area code504

Pilottown (or Pilot Town) is an unincorporated community and ghost town in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. It serves as a base for river pilots to guide ships across the bar and up and down the Mississippi River. As of 2020, there are no permanent residents of the community.[1][2]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the French settlement and fort that preceded Pilottown near the mouth of the Mississippi was known as La Balize, a name that meant "seamark" in French.[1] La Balize was located about ten miles (16 km) downriver from Pilottown.[3]

  1. ^ a b "CRPPA: Pilottown" (overview), Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association, 2001, webpage: CP-Piltt Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "A Historical Perspective of Pilotage" (history), Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association (formed 1908), Loyola Law Review, Vol. 47, Summer 2001, webpage: CP-Piltt Archived April 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ David M. Roth (April 8, 2010). "Louisiana Hurricane History" (PDF). Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. pp. 12–18. Retrieved September 27, 2011.